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We never thought we'd actually say this, but Justin Bieber could very well become a professional boxer at some point in the near future.
Yes, really.
The world-famous musician has reportedly been having secret boxing lessons as he prepares to star in a film about Ukrainian fighter Dmitriy Salita – and apparently he's pretty decent.
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Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard has been thoroughly impressed with Bieber's hands, so much so that he thinks the Canadian megastar could follow in Jake Paul's footsteps and have a career inside the ring.
"From what I've seen of Justin Bieber, he has the talent and the boxing skill to crossover from an entertainment background into boxing - he has the ability to become the next Jake Paul," Howard told Vegas Insider.
"I saw Justin spar and he's got skills. I'm not telling you he's ready to be the middleweight champion of the world but he’s not bad.
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"The hard thing in a boxing movie is to move like a boxer. Justin Bieber apparently was taking some lessons, he was really quite credible.
"There's a little clip of him on YouTube or something. He's very credible as a boxer."
It's no secret that Bieber is a combat sports die-hard.
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The popstar has been seen at countless boxing and mixed martial arts events in the past and has solid relationships with some big-name figures from both sports.
And, of course, who could forget his infamous run-in with UFC fan favourite Nate Diaz?
But as far as actual in-ring experience goes, his music video for 'Anyone' is about as far as it goes.
That said, he has trained with Floyd Mayweather in the past, doing a little light pads session at the boxing legend's gym in Las Vegas.
If, and it's a big 'if', Bieber is serious about stepping into the ring or octagon then there's one obvious person he'd take on.
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The 28-year-old has been in a long-running feud with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise and UFC president Dana White has shown interest in making a bout between the two rivals happen.
“So I’m gonna tell you something interesting, obviously, this thing came out - lots of people will talk about fighting somebody in the UFC, things like that," White told TMZ Sports back in 2019.
“Whether it’s NFL players, or celebrities or whatever, it happens a lot. So obviously I saw it like everybody else did and I didn’t pay much attention to it.
“It picked up a lot of steam and was everywhere.
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“I’m not gonna say any names but I’m just gonna tell you that I got a phone call from a couple of real guys that said that they really do want to do this fight and they believe that Tom Cruise would do the fight.
“And I told them, ‘Well, I’ll tell you this, if that’s true, if that’s true and everybody involved in this thing really wants to do it, we can talk'.
“Let me tell you what, I’d be an idiot not to make this fight. That would be the easiest fight to ever promote in the history of my career.”
Of course, the fight never eventuated, but it certainly got plenty of people talking.
Max Sherry